Mar 09, 2024 By Team YoungWonks *
What are the best strategies for staying productive while working from home?
Working from home has become the new normal for many remote workers and remote teams during the pandemic. While remote work offers flexibility and the ability to skip the commute, maintaining productivity at home can be challenging without the right workspace, workday structure, and time management strategies.
Creating an environment conducive to productivity takes some intentionality when your home is also your office. In this blog, we explore some tips to help boost productivity for remote employees and stay focused while working from home full-time:
Create a Dedicated Home Office
Having a designated office space instead of working from your bed or couch can help put you in a productive mindset. Choose an area with minimal distractions from family members, roommates, pets, or noise. Ensure your office has the right work environment with proper lighting, a comfortable ergonomic chair, and the necessary equipment like monitors, keyboards, and high-speed internet. Making your office space as professional as possible will help you get into a work mindset.
Follow a Morning Routine
Start your day right by establishing an energizing morning routine. Wake up early, exercise, meditate, or do whatever primes you to tackle important tasks. Habits like making your bed, getting dressed for work, and having a healthy breakfast can also mentally prepare you for a productive day working remotely. Adhering to a structured daily routine is key to staying productive and maintaining focus during your entire workday when working from home.
Use Productivity Apps and Templates
With so many digital tools available, leverage apps like to-do list managers, calendar apps, and time trackers to organize your workflow. Templates for things like project plans, meeting agendas, and report scans can also save you extra time. Productivity tools like Pomodoro timers that use intervals of focused work and breaks can prevent multitasking and procrastination.
Take Breaks and Get Fresh Air
It's easy to get consumed by work while at home, but burnout and a lack of work-life balance helps no one be productive. Schedule breaks away from your desk, even if it's just a short 10-minute walk around the block to get some fresh air, movement, and vitamin D from the sunshine. Taking care of your mental health allows you to recharge and maintain energy levels throughout the workday.
Prioritize Your Tasks
With nobody looking over your shoulder at home, it's crucial to prioritize your most important work and avoid distractions like social media, YouTube, or non-urgent tasks. Make a prioritized to-do list for the day using techniques like eating the frog and tackling your biggest, most impactful priorities first when you have the most energy and focus.
Set Work Hours and Boundaries
Without a physical separation between your professional and personal life, it's easy for the two to blend together unhealthily. Set work hours just like you would in an office and stop checking emails, Slack, or taking work video calls once that designated work time is over. Protecting your personal time allows you to recharge, spend time with loved ones, and maintain a sustainable work-life balance. Setting boundaries like not working from bed or specified rooms of the house can create mental separation.
Check in with Your Team
Just because you're not in the same physical space doesn't mean you can't stay connected with colleagues. Make an effort to check in with your manager, teammates, and collaborators regularly via tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom or virtual meetings and calls. Discussing projects, getting feedback, and having casual social interactions can prevent loneliness and isolation that can negatively impact productivity when working remotely in the long-term.
Take Advantage of Flexibility
While structure and routine are important, one of the great benefits of remote work is more flexibility. If you're a night owl, for example, consider shifting your work schedule later so you can capitalize on your peak productivity hours instead of forcing yourself into a 9-5 routine. Similarly, if you live alone, you may be able to be as loud as you need on calls without disturbing others. Find what unique benefits and flexibilities remote work provides for your personality and situation.
Upgrade Your Home Office
Since you'll be spending a significant amount of time in your home office, invest in making it a productive and enjoyable space. Beyond Desktop or laptop basics, splurge on tools that can boost efficiency like a quality webcam and microphone for better video calls, ergonomic desk setup, or even a standing desk. Making your home office a space you actually want to work in can increase your positivity and motivation.
Don't Let Homelife Disrupt You
When you work from home, it can be easy to let home responsibilities like cleaning, laundry, or personal errands disrupt your flow state and ability to focus. While the flexibility to run to the store or do a load of laundry during the day is a perk, be careful about how often you break from work to do home tasks. Those little distractions can quickly turn into procrastination if you're not disciplined.
Manage Notifications Wisely
Constant pings and dings from Slack, email, social media, and other apps can shatter your focus. Turn off notifications for non-essential apps and services during work hours. You can even use website blockers to restrict your access to top distractions. Check messages in batches at set times instead.
Define an End of the Day
Just as having a morning routine is important, develop an "end of workday" routine as well. This could involve a simple habit like closing your laptop at 6pm, changing out of work clothes, or taking a walk. This mental transition cue will prevent overworking and signal your brain to disengage from job tasks.
Try the Pomodoro Technique
This time-management method uses a timer to break work into 25-minute stretches separated by five-minute breaks. After around four intervals, you take a longer 15–30 minute break. This improves focus and prevents burnout, especially on intense tasks requiring deep work.
Take Advantage of Extra Free Time
Don't think of free time as unproductive time when working remotely. Use pockets of downtime to pursue a hobby, meditate, grab a snack, or take a cherished break in whatever way suits you best to recharge and find balance.
Review Tomorrow's Agenda
At the end of each workday, look over your calendar and to-do list for the next day. Write down top priorities so you can hit the ground running in the morning without wasting time figuring out what to tackle first. Having a plan makes productive working easier.
Stay Visible with Your Team
Over-communicate accomplishments and priorities with virtual updates, emails, Slack messages or even video check-ins. This visibility ensures your hard work is recognized and you stay connected to key team members.
Share Productivity Tips
Leverage your network on LinkedIn and other professional channels to exchange ideas with fellow remote workers to boost productivity. There's power in a community, whether it's swapping WFH tips, app recommendations, or motivational stories.
Optimize Your Home Life
Working remotely inevitably blurs some work-life boundaries, so find ways to maintain harmony in your living environment. Set physical boundaries like not working in bedrooms. Schedule focused "home time" like cooking, gardening or gaming. Do whatever brings balance and separation.
Listen to Productivity Podcasts
Fill your commute-less hours with podcasts offering tricks for time management, efficiency hacks, overcoming procrastination, and remote work. Listening while cleaning, exercising or doing chores productively utilizes that time.
Reflect and Iterate
No two productive workdays look alike when you work from home. Reflect on what worked and what didn't to stay productive. Identify patterns that help or hurt your focus, then iterate your routine, tools and habits for constantly improving your workflow.
With some adjustments to your environment, habits, and use of productivity hacks and apps, you can optimize your workflow and avoid the pitfalls of distraction that come with working from home. While being a productive remote worker does take discipline and strategy, you'll enjoy the freedom and work-life balance it provides. Stay focused and make the most of your in-home office.
Enhancing Productivity Through Coding Education
One often overlooked aspect of improving productivity at home, especially for children, is engaging in educational activities that not only stimulate the mind but also build valuable future skills. At Coding Classes for Kids, we believe in harnessing the power of technology to foster a dynamic learning environment. For kids interested in taking their coding skills to the next level, our Python Coding Classes for Kids provide a structured and immersive experience. Furthermore, for those intrigued by creating their own gadgets or games, our Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Game Development Coding Classes offer a hands-on approach to learning these exciting technologies. Engaging in such productive activities not only helps in cultivating a disciplined routine but also equips kids with critical thinking and problem-solving skills, crucial for their academic and personal growth.
*Contributors: Written by Reuben Johns; Edited by Rohit Budania; Lead image by Shivendra Singh
